Sources say Amazon.com to put 200-plus tech jobs in Austin

E-commerce giant Amazon.com is set to establish a major presence in Austin, with plans to potentially bring up to 250 technology jobs to the city, according to sources familiar with the company's plans.

Commercial real estate brokers say Seattle-based Amazon has quietly been scouting for an Austin location for a year or so. The company has settled on Domain 7, a 222,000-square-foot building at the Domain, a new mixed-use project between MoPac Boulevard and Burnet Road. A lease hasn't yet been signed. Amazon is expected to start occupying the space by mid-2015.

Amazon's expansion here would be a boost to Austin's technology sector, said Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell, who said he wasn't privy to any negotiations related to the deal.

"It would be a great boon to the city if they choose to locate here in Austin," Leffingwell said. "They are a very important name brand. I'm very hopeful that those negotiations will be fruitful."

Although there was no word from Amazon on how many employees are expected to work in the Austin office, a local official familiar with Amazon's site search put the figure at about 250 technology jobs.

The company's website on Wednesday listed more than two dozen tech-related jobs available in Austin, including software-development and hardware-development engineers.

As Amazon sought Austin offices, developers with new office buildings under construction "were all chasing them," said Rhonda Toming, managing director of the Austin office of Fischer & Co., a national commercial real estate brokerage firm.

"Everybody wanted them," Toming said, because of the size of the potential lease and the marquee Amazon brand.

David Armbrust, a real estate attorney in Austin, said if the Amazon deal does come through, "that would be a great deal for Austin and a great addition to the Domain. It'd be like a new anchor employer-tenant."

Sam Houston, office division partner with Austin-based HPI Real Estate Services and Investments, said Amazon "would be a great addition to the Austin economy and high-tech community."

"They are a high-growth company that could grow quite a bit in Austin and bring a number of high-quality jobs to the area," he said.